Method and system for providing information to a mobile handheld device from a database system

ABSTRACT

A method for providing information to a mobile handheld device from a database system is provided. The method embodiment includes receiving by a node hosting an information management service a request for data. The request is received from a network enabled mobile handheld device that has intermittent network connectivity. The information management service is configured for identifying unrequested anticipated data based on the requested data. In an embodiment, the anticipated data is identified based on a data request pattern associated with the requested data. Once identified, the requested data and the anticipated data is retrieved from a database system. The requested data and at least a portion of the anticipated data is sent to the network enabled mobile handheld device via a network. By providing anticipated data along with requested data, a mobile user has direct access to unrequested anticipated data when network connectivity is interrupted.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication 61/419,677 entitled METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR DISPLAYINGANALYTIC INFORMATION FROM A MULTI-TENANT DATABASE SYSTEM, by DougChasman et al., filed Dec. 3, 2010 the entire contents of which areincorporated herein by reference.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains materialwhich is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has noobjection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent documentor the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and TrademarkOffice patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyrightrights whatsoever.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

One or more implementations relate generally to providing information toa mobile handheld device from a database network system.

BACKGROUND

The subject matter discussed in the background section should not beassumed to be prior art merely as a result of its mention in thebackground section. Similarly, a problem mentioned in the backgroundsection or associated with the subject matter of the background sectionshould not be assumed to have been previously recognized in the priorart. The subject matter in the background section merely representsdifferent approaches, which in and of themselves may also be inventions.

Most mobile handheld electronic devices such as tablet computers,smartphones, and personal digital assistants (PDAs) are network enabledand allow a mobile user to access information over a public network suchas the Internet. For example, users can receive electronic mail (email)and web content via their smartphones and tablets. Moreover, mobilehandheld devices can support mobile applications so that users canmanipulate data, retrieve and send information, and save and createfiles. In many ways, mobile handheld devices are replacing fixedlocation components and bulkier laptop computers.

By their nature, mobile handheld devices establish network connectivityvia a mobile wireless network, e.g., a cellular telephone network.Because wireless network connectivity relies on radio wavetransmissions, depending on the location of the device, networkconnectivity can be weak if not altogether nonexistent. For example, inunderground transit stations or in remote mountainous areas, most mobilehandheld devices have little or no network capabilities. In somecircumstances, network connectivity can be weak or lost in particularneighborhoods or streets. Accordingly, most mobile handheld devicesinherently have intermittent network connectivity depending on thelocation of the device. In most situations, however, intermittentnetwork connectivity is tolerated because many features of the mobilehandheld device are not typically dependent on a sustained networkconnection.

In the workplace, employers often provide employees with one or moremobile handheld devices for work related purposes. In this way,employees can be outside of the corporate office and still have accessto email, voice mail, and other corporate information. Nevertheless,because the device has intermittent network connectivity, accessingcorporate information from a database system can be difficult orimpossible. For example, a document or file retrieved from a databaseoften includes references to, or include links to, one or more relatedfiles or documents. When the user reviews the retrieved file and wishesto review a related file or document by selecting the associated link,access to that information can be delayed when network connectivity islost. Accordingly, the user must move to another location with networkconnectivity in order to retrieve the related information. In somesituations, however, the user cannot move to another location; forexample, when the user is attending a meeting in a room without awireless network. In this situation, access to the related informationusing the mobile handheld device is effectively impossible.

Accordingly, it is desirable to provide techniques for providinginformation from a database system to a mobile handheld device havingintermittent network connectivity.

BRIEF SUMMARY

In accordance with embodiments, there are provided mechanisms andmethods for providing information to a mobile handheld device from adatabase system. These mechanisms and methods for providing informationto a mobile handheld device can enable embodiments to provide thecapability to access information related to requested informationwithout a network connection. The ability of embodiments to provide suchtechnique can allow a user of the mobile handheld device to accessinformation from the database without regard to location or availabilityof a wireless network.

In an embodiment and by way of example, a method for providinginformation to a mobile handheld device from a database system isprovided. The method embodiment includes receiving by a node hosting aninformation management service a request for data. The request isreceived from a network enabled mobile handheld device that hasintermittent network connectivity. The information management service isconfigured for identifying unrequested anticipated data based on therequested data. In an embodiment, the anticipated data is identifiedbased on a data request pattern associated with the requested data. Onceidentified, the requested data and at least a portion of the anticipateddata is retrieved from a database system, and sent to the networkenabled mobile handheld device via a network. By providing anticipateddata along with requested data, a mobile user has direct access tounrequested anticipated data when network connectivity is interrupted.

In another embodiment, a method for accessing information from adatabase system by a mobile handheld device having intermittent networkconnectivity includes receiving by an information manager componenthosted by a mobile handheld device a request for data, and sending therequest for data to a node hosting an information management serviceconfigured for retrieving the requested data and for retrievingunrequested anticipated data from a database system. In an embodiment,the anticipated data is retrieved based on a data request patternassociated with the requested data. The requested data and at least aportion of the anticipated data is received and stored in availablestorage of the mobile handheld device. By providing anticipated dataalong with requested data, a user of the mobile handheld device hasdirect access to unrequested anticipated data when network connectivityis interrupted.

While one or more implementations and techniques are described withreference to an embodiment in which techniques for providing informationto a mobile handheld device is implemented in a system having anapplication server providing a front end for an on-demand databaseservice capable of supporting multiple tenants, the one or moreimplementations and techniques are not limited to multi-tenant databasesnor deployment on application servers. Embodiments may be practicedusing other database architectures, i.e., ORACLE®, DB2® by IBM and thelike without departing from the scope of the embodiments claimed.

Any of the above embodiments may be used alone or together with oneanother in any combination. The one or more implementations encompassedwithin this specification may also include embodiments that are onlypartially mentioned or alluded to or are not mentioned or alluded to atall in this brief summary or in the abstract. Although variousembodiments may have been motivated by various deficiencies with theprior art, which may be discussed or alluded to in one or more places inthe specification, the embodiments do not necessarily address any ofthese deficiencies. In other words, different embodiments may addressdifferent deficiencies that may be discussed in the specification. Someembodiments may only partially address some deficiencies or just onedeficiency that may be discussed in the specification, and someembodiments may not address any of these deficiencies.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the following drawings like reference numbers are used to refer tolike elements. Although the following figures depict various examples,the one or more implementations are not limited to the examples depictedin the figures.

FIG. 1 is an operational flow diagram illustrating a high level overviewof a technique for providing information to a mobile handheld devicefrom a database system according to an embodiment;

FIG. 2 illustrates a representative system for providing information toa mobile handheld device from a database system according to anembodiment;

FIG. 3 is an operational flow diagram illustrating a high level overviewof a technique for accessing information from a database system by amobile handheld device having intermittent network connectivityaccording to another embodiment;

FIG. 4A illustrates a graphical user interface representing a reportselector that may be displayed for receiving the request for dataaccording to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 4B illustrates a graphical user interface representing how anindication selecting an icon can be received according to an embodiment;

FIG. 5A illustrates a graphical user interface representing a reportcorresponding to requested data, which has been rendered and displayedaccording to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 5B illustrates a graphical user interface that shows a link in thereport of FIG. 5A according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 5C illustrates a graphical user interface representing a reportthat may be displayed in response to receiving an indication selectingthe link of FIG. 5B according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram of an example of an environmentwherein an on-demand database service might be used; and

FIG. 7 illustrates a block diagram of an embodiment of elements of FIG.6 and various possible interconnections between these elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

General Overview

Systems and methods are provided for providing information to a mobilehandheld device from a database system.

In the workplace environment, employees use mobile handheld electronicdevices to support many aspects of their business operations. Suchdevices can include, but are not limited to, tablet computers, PDAs, andsmartphones, just to name a few. Typically, these devices use a wirelesstelecommunication infrastructure to support mobile communicationservices. In addition, the wireless telecommunication infrastructure cansupport data transmissions between network enabled mobile handhelddevices and services via a public network, such as the Internet.Nevertheless, because mobile handheld devices have intermittent networkconnectivity, activities more suitable for using a persistent networkconnection are difficult and tedious for a mobile user. For example, amobile user attempting to access multiple reports and files from asecure database system using a mobile handheld device will be requiredto log-in each time connectivity is reestablished after an interruption.

To date, there is no effective and/or efficient way of providinginformation from a database system to a mobile handheld device havingintermittent network connectivity. The following exemplary embodimentsillustrate mechanisms and methods that can enable a mobile user toaccess information from a database system using a mobile handheld devicehaving intermittent network connectivity. The ability of embodiments toprovide such technique can enhance the functionality of the device andcan improve the user's productivity and efficiency.

FIG. 1 illustrates a method 100 for providing information to a mobilehandheld device from a database system according to an embodiment. FIG.2 illustrates a representative system 200 for providing information to amobile handheld device from a database system according to anembodiment. In particular, FIG. 2 illustrates an arrangement ofcomponents configured to implement the method 100 of FIG. 1, which alsocan be carried out in environments other than that illustrated in FIG.2. In an embodiment, the database system may be implemented as amulti-tenant database system. As used herein, the term multi-tenantdatabase system refers to those systems in which various elements ofhardware and software of the database system may be shared by one ormore customers. For example, a given application server maysimultaneously process requests for a great number of customers, and agiven database table may store rows for a potentially much greaternumber of customers. As used herein, the term query plan refers to a setof steps used to access information in a database system.

Illustrated in FIG, 2 is an information management service module 202including components adapted for operating in an execution environmentprovided by a node 201 and/or multiple nodes as in a distributedexecution environment. Exemplary nodes can include desktop computers,servers, networking nodes, notebook computers, PDAs, mobile phones,digital image capture devices, and the like. One example of such a node201 will be described later in greater detail during reference to laterillustrated embodiments. The information management service module 202can include a data store 208 for storing information and other dataobjects. In an embodiment, the information management service module 202can be configured to receive and send information from and to a mobileuser system 210, e.g., a mobile handheld device, via a network 214. Thenetwork 214 may be a Local Area Network (LAN) and/or a Wide Area Network(WAN) including the Internet. The mobile user system 210 may include anapplication that allows network communication between the mobile usersystem 210 and the information management service module 202. Such anapplication can be, in an embodiment, a mobile browser 212 (e.g.,Android browser, Safari, etc.) or the like that is capable of sendingand receiving information to and from the node 201 hosting theinformation management service module 202.

FIG. 1, as stated above, illustrates a method for providing informationto a mobile handheld device from a database system according to anembodiment. In this case, the method 100 can be implemented in thecontext of the node 201 hosting the information management servicemodule 202, but can also be implemented in any desired environment. Withreference to FIG. 1, the method begins, in block 102, by receiving arequest for data from a network enabled mobile handheld device 210having intermittent network connectivity by the node 201 hosting theinformation management service module 202. According to an embodiment,the information management service module 202 includes means forreceiving the request for data from the network enabled mobile handhelddevice 210. For example, FIG. 2 illustrates a request handler component204 configured for receiving the request for data from the networkenabled mobile handheld device 210.

In an embodiment, the request handler component 204 can be configured toreceive the request for data from the mobile handheld device 210 via thenetwork 214. The network 214 can support any protocol compatible with aconfiguration of the information management service module 202 and/orother components hosted by the node 201 including the informationmanagement service module 202. The request for data can include avariety of information. For example, the request can include, but is notlimited to, a search query for a report, information identifying ordescribing the requested data, information identifying a user requestingthe data, and information identifying the mobile handheld device 210 andits available storage capacity.

Referring again to FIG. 1, when the request is received, unrequestedanticipated data is identified based on a data request patternassociated with the requested data (block 104). According to anembodiment, the request handler component 204 can be configured foridentifying the unrequested anticipated data based on the requested databy using a data request pattern 203 associated with the requested data207.

In an embodiment, a request monitoring component 205 hosted by the node201 and optionally integrated with the request handler component 204,can be configured for creating the data request pattern 203 associatedwith the requested data 207 by monitoring a plurality of subsequent datarequests associated with the requested data. For example, the requesteddata 207 can be a corporate report that summarizes annual earnings over10 years. When the corporate report is requested and retrieved, therequest monitoring component 205 can be configured to monitor subsequentdata requests associated with the initial request for the corporatereport. In an embodiment, the request monitoring component 205 can beconfigured to track subsequent data requests from any requester during asingle communication session or over several communication sessionsduring a predetermined period of time.

According to an embodiment, the request monitoring component 205 can beconfigured for analyzing the plurality of subsequent data requests todetermine a data request pattern 203, where the data request pattern 203ranks follow up data requests based on a ranking criteria, such as asubsequent request frequency. For example, referring again to therequested corporate report, the request monitoring component 205 candetermine, based on the subsequent data requests, that an annualearnings report for year nine (9) within the 10 year span is mostfrequently requested as a follow up data request, and that the annualearnings report for year one (1) is the next most frequently requestedreport. In this example, the data request pattern 203 can include theannual reports for year nine (9) and one (1), where year nine (9) isranked first and year one (1) is ranked second. Alternatively or inaddition, the ranking criteria can be based on when the data wasrequested, e.g., the most recently requested data is ranked highest.

In another embodiment, the request monitoring component 205 can beconfigured for creating a user specific data request pattern 203 aassociated with a particular user and with the requested data 207. Inthis embodiment, the request monitoring component 205 can be configuredfor monitoring a plurality of a user's subsequent data requestsassociated with the requested data, and for analyzing the plurality ofthe user's subsequent data requests to determine the user specific datarequest pattern 203 a.

Alternatively or in addition, in another embodiment, the data requestpattern 203 associated with the requested data 207 can be based on linksembedded in the requested data 207. For example, referring again to therequested corporate report, the report can include links to each of theannual earnings reports for years one (1) through ten (10), and therequest monitoring component 205 can be configured to identify thoselinks. In this example, the data request pattern 203 can include all ofthe links embedded in the requested data 207, i.e., links to each of theannual reports, and optionally can rank them according to the rankingcriteria, e.g., most recently requested, request frequency and/or anycombination thereof.

Once the data request pattern 203 and/or the user specific data requestpattern 203 a is determined, the request monitoring component 205 can beconfigured for generating an association between the data requestpattern 203, 203 a and the requested data 207. The user specific datarequest pattern 203 a can be further associated with the user such thatthe association is between the user, the user specific request pattern203 a, and the requested data 207. The association is then stored in thedatabase system 208. According to an exemplary embodiment, a datamanager component 206 hosted by the node 201 and optionally integratedwith the information management service module 202 can be configured toreceive the association from the request handler component 204, andoptionally to process the association so that it can be stored in thedatabase system 208.

According to an embodiment, the request handler component 204 can beconfigured for identifying the unrequested anticipated data 209 byretrieving the data request pattern 203 based on the association betweenthe data request pattern 203 and the requested data 207. In anembodiment, the request handler component 204 can invoke the datamanager component 206 to retrieve the data request pattern 203. Therequest handler component 204 can then select at least one of the followup data requests in the data request pattern 203. In an embodiment, thehighest ranking follow up data request can be selected automatically.Alternatively or in addition, the selected follow up data request(s) canbe based on ranking and on other criteria, such as size, type, andformat.

Referring again to FIG. 1, once the anticipated data 209 is identified,the requested data 207 and the anticipated data 209 are retrieved fromthe database system 208 (block 106). According to an embodiment, therequest handler component 204 can invoke the data manager component 206for performing this task. For example, the data manager component 206can be configured to receive from the request handler component 204 aGET command including an identifier associated with the requested data207 and at least one identifier associated with the anticipated data209. The data manager component 206 can then be configured to processthe command against the database 208, and to retrieve and return therequested data 207 and the anticipated data 209.

Referring again to FIG. 1, the requested data 207 and at least a portionof the anticipated data 209 is sent to the network enabled mobilehandheld device 210 via the network 214 (block 108). According to anembodiment, by providing anticipated data 209 along with requested data207, a mobile user has direct access to the unrequested anticipated data209 when network connectivity is interrupted.

In an exemplary embodiment, when the request handler component 204receives the requested data 207 and the anticipated data 209, it isconfigured for determining how much of the anticipated data 209 shouldbe sent to the mobile handheld device 210. For example, the requesthandler component 204 can determine an available storage of the networkenabled handheld mobile device 210 based on the information received inthe request for data. As noted above, the request for data can includeinformation identifying or describing the requested data, informationidentifying a user requesting the data, and information identifying themobile handheld device 210 and its available storage capacity.

According to an embodiment, the request handler component 204 candetermine a total storage requirement by summing a storage requirementof the requested data 207 and a storage requirement of the anticipateddata 209. When the total storage requirement is less than the availablestorage of the network enabled mobile device 210, the requested data 207and all of the anticipated data 209 can be sent to the device 210.Otherwise, when the total storage requirement exceeds the availablestorage of the network enabled mobile device 210, the requested data 207and a portion of the anticipated data 209 can be sent to the device 210.In an embodiment, a sum of the storage requirements of the requesteddata and of the portion of the anticipated data is less than theavailable storage of the network enabled mobile device 210.

The information management service module 202 includes means for sendingthe requested data 207 and at least a portion of the anticipated data209 to the network enabled mobile handheld device 210. For example, FIG.2 illustrates a message handler component 211 configured for performingthis task. In an embodiment, the message handler component 211 cangenerate a message including the requested data 207 and at least aportion of the anticipated data 209 and can send the message to therequesting mobile handheld device 210 as a response to the request fordata.

FIG. 3 illustrates a method for accessing information from a databasesystem by a mobile handheld device having intermittent networkconnectivity according to another embodiment. Here, the method 300 canbe implemented in the context of the mobile handheld device 210 of FIG.2. The method 300 may, however, be carried out in any desiredenvironment.

Referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, a request for data is received in block302. In an embodiment, the mobile handheld device 210 can include aninformation manager component 220 configured for receiving the requestfor data. The request can be received in a number of ways. For example,it can be received via manual input by a user using an input device suchas a keyboard, via audio input, and/or via a scanning or imaging device.In an embodiment, a scanning device can be used to read a barcode orother information associated with the requested data. In anotherembodiment, an camera component (not shown) in the handheld device 210can be used to capture an image of the information associated with therequested data.

Alternatively or in addition, in an embodiment, the information managercomponent 220 can display a plurality of icons associated with files,records, and/or objects for the user and an indication selecting an iconassociated with the requested data can be received. FIG. 4A illustratesa graphical user interface representing a report selector 400 that maybe displayed for receiving the request for data according to anexemplary embodiment. In an embodiment, the report selector 400 can beprovided by the information manager component 220 in the network browser212. Alternatively or additionally, the report selector 400 can beprovided by the information management service module 202. As shown, thereport selector 400 includes a plurality of icons/thumbnails 401associated with files, records, and/or objects. FIG. 4B illustrates howan indication selecting an icon 401 a is received by the informationmanager component 220.

In another embodiment, the information manager component 220 can beconfigured for receiving at least one search criteria relating to therequested data. Based on the at least one search criteria, theinformation manager component 220 can generate a search query and cangenerate the request for data including the search query. In thisembodiment, the information manager component 220 can be configured forprocessing the search query, and for displaying a report selector 400including a plurality of icons/thumbnails corresponding to files,records, and/or objects that satisfy the search query. From thedisplayed report selector 400, the information manager component 220 canreceive an indication selecting an icon, e.g., 401 a, associated withthe requested data.

As indicated above, the request for data can include various additionalinformation in addition to a search query and/or information identifyingor describing the requested data. For instance, the search query caninclude information identifying a user requesting the data, andinformation identifying the mobile handheld device 210 and its availablestorage capacity.

Referring again to FIG. 3, the request for data is sent to a nodehosting an information management service module configured forretrieving the requested data and for retrieving unrequested anticipateddata from a database system (block 304). In an embodiment, theinformation manager component 220 can invoke the network browser 212 tosend the request for data to the information management service module,e.g., service module 202, hosted by the node 201 via the network 214. Inresponse to sending the request for data, the information managercomponent 220 can be configured for receiving the requested data 207 andat least a portion of unrequested anticipated data 209 (block 306), andfor storing the requested data 207 and the at least a portion ofanticipated data 209 in available storage 230 of the mobile handhelddevice 210 (block 308).

In an embodiment, the storage 230 can be a temporary storage component,e.g., a cache, or a persistent storage component. In another embodiment,the data 207, 209 can be stored in a combination of persistent andtemporary storage. Because anticipated data 209 along with requesteddata 207 is stored, a user of the mobile handheld device 210 has directaccess to unrequested anticipated data 209 when network connectivity isinterrupted.

For example, when the requested data 207 is stored by the informationmanager component 220 in storage 230, the requested data 207 can beretrieved by a rendering engine component 213 hosted by the handhelddevice 210. The rendering engine component 213 can be configured forrendering the requested data 207, e.g., a report, and for providing therendered report to the network browser 212 for display to the user. FIG.5A illustrates a graphical user interface representing a report 500corresponding to requested data, which has been rendered and displayed.According to an embodiment, the report 500 can include a link to arelated report. For example, FIG. 5B illustrates that the report 500includes a link 502 located on or near a “Revenue by Product” piechartcorresponding to a “Revenue by Product” report.

When the user selects the link 502, as shown in FIG. 5B, the informationmanager component 220 can be configured for receiving the indicationselecting the link 502 to the related report, e.g., a Revenue by Productreport, and for determining that the related report corresponds toanticipated data 209 stored in the available storage 230 of the mobilehandheld device 210. In an embodiment, the information manager component220 can be configured for invoking the rendering engine component 213 toretrieve the anticipated data 209 corresponding to the related report,and to render the related report from the anticipated data 209. Therendered Revenue by Product report 500 a is then displayed to the user,as shown in FIG. 5C. Because the anticipated data 209 corresponding tothe Revenue by Product report 500 a is provided along with the requesteddata 207 corresponding to the Sales by Account report 500, the user hasdirect access to the related report even when network connectivity isinterrupted.

According to another embodiment, the information management servicemodule 202 can provide an alert to the mobile handheld device 210 whenthe requested data 207 and/or the anticipated data 209 is updated. Forexample, when an update is performed by the database system 208, therequest handler component 204 can be configured for receiving anindication updating the requested data 207 and/or the anticipated data209. In response to receiving this indication, a notification can besent to the network enabled mobile handheld device 210 via the network214. In an embodiment, the notification can include the updatedrequested data 207 and/or the updated anticipated data 209.

The information manager component 220 can be configured for receivingthe notification and for storing the updated requested data and/or theupdated anticipated data in the available storage 230 of the mobilehandheld device 210. In an embodiment, when the notification isreceived, the information manager component 220 can notify the user thatan update has been received by, for example, causing the device 210 tovibrate or by activating a ring tone. In another embodiment, the usercan review any received updates by, for example, shaking the handhelddevice 210 or selecting an update button on the graphical user interfacedisplaying a report.

System Overview

FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram of an environment 610 wherein anon-demand database service might be used. Environment 610 may includeuser systems 612, network 614, system 616, processor system 617,application platform 618, network interface 620, tenant data storage622, system data storage 624, program code 626, and process space 628.In other embodiments, environment 610 may not have all of the componentslisted and/or may have other elements instead of, or in addition to,those listed above.

Environment 610 is an environment in which an on-demand database serviceexists. User system 612 may be any machine or system that is used by auser to access a database user system. For example, any of user systems612 can be a handheld computing device, a mobile phone, a laptopcomputer, a work station, and/or a network of computing devices. Asillustrated in FIG. 6 (and in more detail in FIG. 7) user systems 612might interact via a network 614 with an on-demand database service,which is system 616.

An on-demand database service, such as system 616, is a database systemthat is made available to outside users that do not need to necessarilybe concerned with building and/or maintaining the database system, butinstead may be available for their use when the users need the databasesystem (e.g., on the demand of the users). Some on-demand databaseservices may store information from one or more tenants stored intotables of a common database image to form a multi-tenant database system(MTS). Accordingly, “on-demand database service 616” and “system 616”will be used interchangeably herein. A database image may include one ormore database objects. A relational database management system (RDMS) orthe equivalent may execute storage and retrieval of information againstthe database object(s). Application platform 618 may be a framework thatallows the applications of system 616 to run, such as the hardwareand/or software, e.g., the operating system. In an embodiment, on-demanddatabase service 616 may include an application platform 618 thatenables creation, managing and executing one or more applicationsdeveloped by the provider of the on-demand database service, usersaccessing the on-demand database service via user systems 612, or thirdparty application developers accessing the on-demand database servicevia user systems 612.

The users of user systems 612 may differ in their respective capacities,and the capacity of a particular user system 612 might be entirelydetermined by permissions (permission levels) for the current user. Forexample, where a salesperson is using a particular user system 612 tointeract with system 616, that user system has the capacities allottedto that salesperson. However, while an administrator is using that usersystem to interact with system 616, that user system has the capacitiesallotted to that administrator. In systems with a hierarchical rolemodel, users at one permission level may have access to applications,data, and database information accessible by a lower permission leveluser, but may not have access to certain applications, databaseinformation, and data accessible by a user at a higher permission level.Thus, different users will have different capabilities with regard toaccessing and modifying application and database information, dependingon a user's security or permission level.

Network 614 is any network or combination of networks of devices thatcommunicate with one another. For example, network 614 can be any one orany combination of a LAN (local area network), WAN (wide area network),telephone network, wireless network, point-to-point network, starnetwork, token ring network, hub network, or other appropriateconfiguration. As the most common type of computer network in currentuse is a TCP/IP (Transfer Control Protocol and Internet Protocol)network, such as the global internetwork of networks often referred toas the “Internet” with a capital “I,” that network will be used in manyof the examples herein. However, it should be understood that thenetworks that the one or more implementations might use are not solimited, although TCP/IP is a frequently implemented protocol.

User systems 612 might communicate with system 616 using TCP/IP and, ata higher network level, use other common Internet protocols tocommunicate, such as HTTP, FTP, AFS, WAP, etc. In an example where HTTPis used, user system 612 might include an HTTP client commonly referredto as a “browser” for sending and receiving HTTP messages to and from anHTTP server at system 616. Such an HTTP server might be implemented asthe sole network interface between system 616 and network 614, but othertechniques might be used as well or instead. In some implementations,the interface between system 616 and network 614 includes load sharingfunctionality, such as round-robin HTTP request distributors to balanceloads and distribute incoming HTTP requests evenly over a plurality ofservers. At least as for the users that are accessing that server, eachof the plurality of servers has access to the MTS′ data; however, otheralternative configurations may be used instead.

In one embodiment, system 616, shown in FIG. 6, implements a web-basedcustomer relationship management (CRM) system. For example, in oneembodiment, system 616 includes application servers configured toimplement and execute CRM software applications as well as providerelated data, code, forms, webpages and other information to and fromuser systems 612 and to store to, and retrieve from, a database systemrelated data, objects, and Webpage content. With a multi-tenant system,data for multiple tenants may be stored in the same physical databaseobject, however, tenant data typically is arranged so that data of onetenant is kept logically separate from that of other tenants so that onetenant does not have access to another tenant's data, unless such datais expressly shared. In certain embodiments, system 616 implementsapplications other than, or in addition to, a CRM application. Forexample, system 616 may provide tenant access to multiple hosted(standard and custom) applications, including a CRM application. User(or third party developer) applications, which may or may not includeCRM, may be supported by the application platform 618, which managescreation, storage of the applications into one or more database objectsand executing of the applications in a virtual machine in the processspace of the system 616.

One arrangement for elements of system 616 is shown in FIG. 6, includinga network interface 620, application platform 618, tenant data storage622 for tenant data 623, system data storage 624 for system data 625accessible to system 616 and possibly multiple tenants, program code 626for implementing various functions of system 616, and a process space628 for executing MTS system processes and tenant-specific processes,such as running applications as part of an application hosting service.Additional processes that may execute on system 616 include databaseindexing processes.

Several elements in the system shown in FIG. 6 include conventional,well-known elements that are explained only briefly here. For example,each user system 612 could include a desktop personal computer,workstation, laptop, PDA, cell phone, or any wireless access protocol(WAP) enabled device or any other computing device capable ofinterfacing directly or indirectly to the Internet or other networkconnection. User system 612 typically runs an HTTP client, e.g., abrowsing program, such as Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser,Netscape's Navigator browser, Opera's browser, or a WAP-enabled browserin the case of a cell phone, PDA or other wireless device, or the like,allowing a user (e.g., subscriber of the multi-tenant database system)of user system 612 to access, process and view information, pages andapplications available to it from system 616 over network 614. Each usersystem 612 also typically includes one or more user interface devices,such as a keyboard, a mouse, trackball, touch pad, touch screen, pen orthe like, for interacting with a graphical user interface (GUI) providedby the browser on a display (e.g., a monitor screen, LCD display, etc.)in conjunction with pages, forms, applications and other informationprovided by system 616 or other systems or servers. For example, theuser interface device can be used to access data and applications hostedby system 616, and to perform searches on stored data, and otherwiseallow a user to interact with various GUI pages that may be presented toa user. As discussed above, embodiments are suitable for use with theInternet, which refers to a specific global internetwork of networks.However, it should be understood that other networks can be used insteadof the Internet, such as an intranet, an extranet, a virtual privatenetwork (VPN), a non-TCP/IP based network, any LAN or WAN or the like.

According to one embodiment, each user system 612 and all of itscomponents are operator configurable using applications, such as abrowser, including computer code run using a central processing unitsuch as an Intel Pentium® processor or the like. Similarly, system 616(and additional instances of an MTS, where more than one is present) andall of their components might be operator configurable usingapplication(s) including computer code to run using a central processingunit such as processor system 617, which may include an Intel Pentium®processor or the like, and/or multiple processor units. A computerprogram product embodiment includes a machine-readable storage medium(media) having instructions stored thereon/in which can be used toprogram a computer to perform any of the processes of the embodimentsdescribed herein. Computer code for operating and configuring system 616to intercommunicate and to process webpages, applications and other dataand media content as described herein are preferably downloaded andstored on a hard disk, but the entire program code, or portions thereof,may also be stored in any other volatile or non-volatile memory mediumor device as is well known, such as a ROM or RAM, or provided on anymedia capable of storing program code, such as any type of rotatingmedia including floppy disks, optical discs, digital versatile disk(DVD), compact disk (CD), microdrive, and magneto-optical disks, andmagnetic or optical cards, nanosystems (including molecular memory ICs),or any type of media or device suitable for storing instructions and/ordata. Additionally, the entire program code, or portions thereof, may betransmitted and downloaded from a software source over a transmissionmedium, e.g., over the Internet, or from another server, as is wellknown, or transmitted over any other conventional network connection asis well known (e.g., extranet, VPN, LAN, etc.) using any communicationmedium and protocols (e g., TCP/IP, HTTP, HTTPS, Ethernet, etc.) as arewell known. It will also be appreciated that computer code forimplementing embodiments can be implemented in any programming languagethat can be executed on a client system and/or server or server systemsuch as, for example, C, C++, HTML, any other markup language, Java™,JavaScript, ActiveX, any other scripting language, such as VBScript, andmany other programming languages as are well known may be used. (Java™is a trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc.).

According to one embodiment, each system 616 is configured to providewebpages, forms, applications, data and media content to user (client)systems 612 to support the access by user systems 612 as tenants ofsystem 616. As such, system 616 provides security mechanisms to keepeach tenant's data separate unless the data is shared. If more than oneMTS is used, they may be located in close proximity to one another(e.g., in a server farm located in a single building or campus), or theymay be distributed at locations remote from one another (e.g., one ormore servers located in city A and one or more servers located in cityB). As used herein, each MTS could include one or more logically and/orphysically connected servers distributed locally or across one or moregeographic locations. Additionally, the term “server” is meant toinclude a computer system, including processing hardware and processspace(s), and an associated storage system and database application(e.g., OODBMS or RDBMS) as is well known in the art. It should also beunderstood that “server system” and “server” are often usedinterchangeably herein. Similarly, the database object described hereincan be implemented as single databases, a distributed database, acollection of distributed databases, a database with redundant online oroffline backups or other redundancies, etc., and might include adistributed database or storage network and associated processingintelligence.

FIG. 7 also illustrates environment 610. However, in FIG. 7 elements ofsystem 616 and various interconnections in an embodiment are furtherillustrated. FIG. 7 shows that user system 612 may include processorsystem 612A, memory system 612B, input system 612C, and output system612D. FIG. 7 shows network 614 and system 616. FIG. 7 also shows thatsystem 616 may include tenant data storage 622, tenant data 623, systemdata storage 624, system data 625, User Interface (UI) 730, ApplicationProgram Interface (API) 732, PL/SOQL 734, save routines 736, applicationsetup mechanism 738, applications servers 700 ₁-700 _(N), system processspace 702, tenant process spaces 704, tenant management process space710, tenant storage area 712, user data storage 714, and applicationmetadata 716. In other embodiments, environment 610 may not have thesame elements as those listed above and/or may have other elementsinstead of, or in addition to, those listed above.

User system 612, network 614, system 616, tenant data storage 622, andsystem data storage 624 were discussed above in FIG. 6. Regarding usersystem 612, processor system 612A may be any combination of one or moreprocessors. Memory system 612B may be any combination of one or morememory devices, short term, and/or long term memory. Input system 612Cmay be any combination of input devices, such as one or more keyboards,mice, trackballs, scanners, cameras, and/or interfaces to networks.Output system 612D may be any combination of output devices, such as oneor more monitors, printers, and/or interfaces to networks. As shown byFIG. 7, system 616 may include a network interface 620 (of FIG. 6)implemented as a set of HTTP application servers 700 ₁-700 _(N), anapplication platform 618, tenant data storage 622, and system datastorage 624. Also shown is system process space 702, includingindividual tenant process spaces 704 and a tenant management processspace 710. Each application server 700 ₁-700 _(N) may be configured totenant data storage 622 and the tenant data 623 therein, and system datastorage 624 and the system data 625 therein to serve requests of usersystems 612. The tenant data 623 might be divided into individual tenantstorage areas 712, which can be either a physical arrangement and/or alogical arrangement of data. Within each tenant storage area 712, userdata storage 714 and application metadata 716 might be similarlyallocated for each user. For example, a copy of a user's most recentlyused (MRU) items might be stored to user data storage 714. Similarly, acopy of MRU items for an entire organization that is a tenant might bestored to tenant storage area 712. A UI 730 provides a user interfaceand an API 732 provides an application programmer interface to system616 resident processes to users and/or developers at user systems 612.The tenant data 623 and the system data 625 may be stored in variousdatabases, such as one or more Oracle™ databases.

Application platform 618 includes an application setup mechanism 738that supports application developers' creation and management ofapplications, which may be saved as metadata into tenant data storage622 by save routines 736 for execution by subscribers as one or moretenant process spaces 704 managed by tenant management process 710 forexample. Invocations to such applications may be coded using PL/SOQL 734that provides a programming language style interface extension to API732. A detailed description of some PL/SOQL language embodiments isdiscussed in commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 7,730,478 entitled, METHOD ANDSYSTEM FOR ALLOWING ACCESS TO DEVELOPED APPLICATIONS VIA A MULTI-TENANTON-DEMAND DATABASE SERVICE, by Craig Weissman, filed Sep. 21, 2007,which is incorporated in its entirety herein for all purposes.Invocations to applications may be detected by one or more systemprocesses, which manages retrieving application metadata 716 for thesubscriber making the invocation and executing the metadata as anapplication in a virtual machine.

Each application server 700 ₁-700 _(N) may be communicably coupled todatabase systems, e.g., having access to system data 625 and tenant data623, via a different network connection. For example, one applicationserver 700 ₁ might be coupled via the network 614 (e.g., the Internet),another application server 700 _(N-1) might be coupled via a directnetwork link, and another application server 700 _(N) might be coupledby yet a different network connection. Transfer Control Protocol andInternet Protocol (TCP/IP) are typical protocols for communicatingbetween application servers 700 ₁-700 _(N) and the database system.However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that othertransport protocols may be used to optimize the system depending on thenetwork interconnect used.

In certain embodiments, each application server 700 ₁-700 _(N) isconfigured to handle requests for any user associated with anyorganization that is a tenant. Because it is desirable to be able to addand remove application servers from the server pool at any time for anyreason, there is preferably no server affinity for a user and/ororganization to a specific application server 700 ₁-700 _(N). In oneembodiment, therefore, an interface system implementing a load balancingfunction (e.g., an F5 Big-IP load balancer) is communicably coupledbetween the application servers 700 ₁-700 _(N) and the user systems 612to distribute requests to the application servers 700 ₁-700 _(N). In oneembodiment, the load balancer uses a least connections algorithm toroute user requests to the application servers 700 ₁-700 _(N). Otherexamples of load balancing algorithms, such as round robin and observedresponse time, also can be used. For example, in certain embodiments,three consecutive requests from the same user could hit three differentapplication servers 700 ₁-700 _(N), and three requests from differentusers could hit the same application server 700 ₁-700 _(N). In thismanner, system 616 is multi-tenant, wherein system 616 handles storageof, and access to, different objects, data and applications acrossdisparate users and organizations.

As an example of storage, one tenant might be a company that employs asales force where each salesperson uses system 616 to manage their salesprocess. Thus, a user might maintain contact data, leads data, customerfollow-up data, performance data, goals and progress data, etc., allapplicable to that user's personal sales process (e.g., in tenant datastorage 622). In an example of a MTS arrangement, since all of the dataand the applications to access, view, modify, report, transmit,calculate, etc., can be maintained and accessed by a user system havingnothing more than network access, the user can manage his or her salesefforts and cycles from any of many different user systems. For example,if a salesperson is visiting a customer and the customer has Internetaccess in their lobby, the salesperson can obtain critical updates as tothat customer while waiting for the customer to arrive in the lobby.

While each user's data might be separate from other users' dataregardless of the employers of each user, some data might beorganization-wide data shared or accessible by a plurality of users orall of the users for a given organization that is a tenant. Thus, theremight be some data structures managed by system 616 that are allocatedat the tenant level while other data structures might be managed at theuser level. Because an MTS might support multiple tenants includingpossible competitors, the MTS should have security protocols that keepdata, applications, and application use separate. Also, because manytenants may opt for access to an MTS rather than maintain their ownsystem, redundancy, up-time, and backup are additional functions thatmay be implemented in the MTS. In addition to user-specific data andtenant specific data, system 616 might also maintain system level datausable by multiple tenants or other data. Such system level data mightinclude industry reports, news, postings, and the like that are sharableamong tenants.

In certain embodiments, user systems 612 (which may be client systems)communicate with application servers 700 ₁-700 _(N) to request andupdate system-level and tenant-level data from system 616 that mayrequire sending one or more queries to tenant data storage 622 and/orsystem data storage 624. System 616 (e.g., an application server 700 ₁in system 616) automatically generates one or more SQL statements (e.g.,one or more SQL queries) that are designed to access the desiredinformation. System data storage 624 may generate query plans to accessthe requested data from the database.

Each database can generally be viewed as a collection of objects, suchas a set of logical tables, containing data fitted into predefinedcategories. A “table” is one representation of a data object, and may beused herein to simplify the conceptual description of objects and customobjects. It should be understood that “table” and “object” may be usedinterchangeably herein. Each table generally contains one or more datacategories logically arranged as columns or fields in a viewable schema.Each row or record of a table contains an instance of data for eachcategory defined by the fields. For example, a CRM database may includea table that describes a customer with fields for basic contactinformation such as name, address, phone number, fax number, etc.Another table might describe a purchase order, including fields forinformation such as customer, product, sale price, date, etc. In somemulti-tenant database systems, standard entity tables might be providedfor use by all tenants. For CRM database applications, such standardentities might include tables for Account, Contact, Lead, andOpportunity data, each containing pre-defined fields. It should beunderstood that the word “entity” may also be used interchangeablyherein with “object” and “table”.

In some multi-tenant database systems, tenants may be allowed to createand store custom objects, or they may be allowed to customize standardentities or objects, for example by creating custom fields for standardobjects, including custom index fields. U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/817,161, filed Apr. 2, 2004, entitled “Custom Entities and Fields ina Multi-Tenant Database System”, and which is hereby incorporated hereinby reference, teaches systems and methods for creating custom objects aswell as customizing standard objects in a multi-tenant database system.In certain embodiments, for example, all custom entity data rows arestored in a single multi-tenant physical table, which may containmultiple logical tables per organization. It is transparent to customersthat their multiple “tables” are in fact stored in one large table orthat their data may be stored in the same table as the data of othercustomers. While one or more implementations have been described by wayof example and in terms of the specific embodiments, it is to beunderstood that one or more implementations are not limited to thedisclosed embodiments. To the contrary, it is intended to cover variousmodifications and similar arrangements as would be apparent to thoseskilled in the art. Therefore, the scope of the appended claims shouldbe accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all suchmodifications and similar arrangements.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method for accessing information from adatabase system by a mobile handheld device having intermittent networkconnectivity, the method comprising: receiving, by an informationmanager component hosted by a mobile handheld device, a request fordata, the requested data corresponding to a report; sending, by theinformation manager component, the request for data to a node hosting aninformation management service configured for retrieving the requesteddata associated with the request which is currently pending andretrieving unrequested anticipated data from a database system, whereinthe unrequested anticipated data is retrieved based on a data requestpattern of a plurality of subsequent data requests associated withprevious requests for the requested data; receiving, by the informationmanager component, the requested data with at least a portion of theunrequested anticipated data; storing the requested data and the atleast a portion of the unrequested anticipated data in available storageof the mobile handheld device, wherein by providing the unrequestedanticipated data along with requested data, a user of the mobilehandheld device has direct access to the unrequested anticipated datawhen network connectivity is interrupted; rendering, by a renderingengine component hosted by the mobile handheld device, the report fromthe requested data, the rendered report including a link to a relatedreport; displaying the report; receiving an indication selecting thelink to the related report; determining that the related reportcorresponds to the unrequested anticipated data stored in the availablestorage of the mobile handheld device; rendering, by the renderingengine component, the related report from the unrequested anticipateddata; and displaying the related report.
 2. The method of claim 1wherein sending the request for data to the node comprises sending therequest over a network, wherein the network is at least one of a publicand a private network, and wherein the database system is a multi-tenanton-demand database system.
 3. The method of claim 1 wherein receivingthe request for data includes displaying a plurality of icons associatedwith at least one of files, records, and objects, and receiving anindication selecting an icon associated with the requested data.
 4. Themethod of claim 1 wherein receiving the request for data includes:receiving, by the information manager component, at least one searchcriteria relating to the user requested data; generating a search querybased on the at least one search criteria; and generating the requestfor data including the search query.
 5. The method of claim 4 whereinreceiving the request for data further includes: displaying, by theinformation manager component, a plurality of filters; receiving anindication selecting a filter; displaying a plurality of iconscorresponding to at least one of files, records, and objects thatsatisfy the selected filter; and receiving an indication selecting anicon associated with the requested data.
 6. The method of claim 1further comprising: receiving, by the information manager component, anotification including at least one of updated user requested data andupdated unrequested anticipated data; and storing at least one of theupdated requested data and the updated unrequested anticipated data inthe available storage of the mobile handheld device.
 7. A non-transitorymachine-readable medium carrying one or more sequences of instructionsfor accessing information from a database system by a mobile handhelddevice having intermittent network connectivity, which instructions,when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or moreprocessors to: receive, by an information manager component hosted by amobile handheld device, a request for data, the requested datacorresponding to a report; send, by the information manager component,the request for data to a node hosting an information management serviceconfigured for retrieving the requested data associated with the requestwhich is currently pending and retrieving unrequested anticipated datafrom a database system, wherein the unrequested anticipated data isretrieved based on a data request pattern of a plurality of subsequentdata requests associated previous requests for with the requested data;receive, by the information manager component, the requested data andwith at least a portion of the unrequested anticipated data; store therequested data and the at least a portion of the unrequested anticipateddata in available storage of the mobile handheld device, wherein byproviding the unrequested anticipated data along with requested data, auser of the mobile handheld device has direct access to the unrequestedanticipated data when network connectivity is interrupted; render, by arendering engine component hosted by the mobile handheld device, thereport from the requested data, the rendered report including a link toa related report; display the report; receive an indication selectingthe link to the related report; determine that the related reportcorresponds to the unrequested anticipated data stored in the availablestorage of the mobile handheld device; render, by the rendering enginecomponent, the related report from the unrequested anticipated data; anddisplay the related report.
 8. The non-transitory machine-readablemedium of claim 7 wherein the instructions causing the one or moreprocessors to send the request for data to the node compriseinstructions to send the request over a network, wherein the network isat least one of a public and a private network, and wherein the databasesystem is a multi-tenant on-demand database system.
 9. Thenon-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 7 wherein theinstructions causing the one or more processors to receive the requestfor data include instructions to display a plurality of icons associatedwith at least one of files, records, and objects, and receive anindication selecting an icon associated with the requested data.
 10. Thenon-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 7 wherein theinstructions causing the one or more processors to receive the requestfor data include instructions to: receive, by the information managercomponent, at least one search criteria relating to the user requesteddata; generate a search query based on the at least one search criteria;and generate the request for data including the search query.
 11. Thenon-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 10 wherein theinstructions causing the one or more processors to receive the requestfor data further include instructions to: display, by the informationmanager component, a plurality of filters; receive an indicationselecting a filter; display a plurality of icons corresponding to atleast one of files, records, and objects that satisfy the selectedfilter; and receive an indication selecting an icon associated with therequested data.
 12. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim7 wherein the instructions further cause the one or more processors to:receive, by the information manager component, a notification includingat least one of updated user requested data and updated unrequestedanticipated data; and store at least one of the updated requested dataand the updated unrequested anticipated data in the available storage ofthe mobile handheld device.
 13. An apparatus for accessing informationfrom a database system by a mobile handheld device having intermittentnetwork connectivity, the apparatus comprising: a processor; and one ormore stored sequences of instructions which, when executed by theprocessor, cause the processor to: receive, by an information managercomponent hosted by a mobile handheld device, a request for data, therequested data corresponding to a report; send, by the informationmanager component, the request for data to a node hosting an informationmanagement service configured for retrieving the requested dataassociated with the request which is currently pending and retrievingunrequested anticipated data from a database system, wherein theunrequested anticipated data is retrieved based on a data requestpattern of a plurality of subsequent data requests associated withprevious requests for the requested data; receive, by the informationmanager component, the requested data and with at least a portion of theunrequested anticipated data; store the requested data and the at leasta portion of the unrequested anticipated data in available storage ofthe mobile handheld device, wherein by providing the unrequestedanticipated data along with the requested data, a user of the mobilehandheld device has direct access to the unrequested anticipated datawhen network connectivity is interrupted; render, by a rendering enginecomponent hosted by the mobile handheld device, the report from therequested data, the rendered report including a link to a relatedreport; display the report; receive an indication selecting the link tothe related report; determine that the related report corresponds to theunrequested anticipated data stored in the available storage of themobile handheld device; render, by the rendering engine component, therelated report from the unrequested anticipated data; and display therelated report.
 14. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the one or morestored sequences of instructions causing the processor to send therequest for data to the node comprises instructions to send the requestover a network, wherein the network is at least one of a public and aprivate network, and wherein the database system is a multi-tenanton-demand database system.
 15. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the oneor more stored sequences of instructions causing the processor toreceive the request for data includes instructions to display aplurality of icons associated with at least one of files, records, andobjects, and receive an indication selecting an icon associated with therequested data.
 16. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the one or morestored sequences of instructions causing the processor to receive therequest for data includes instructions to: receive, by the informationmanager component, at least one search criteria relating to the userrequested data; generate a search query based on the at least one searchcriteria; and generate the request for data including the search query.17. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein the one or more stored sequencesof instructions causing the processor to receive the request for datafurther includes instructions to: display, by the information managercomponent, a plurality of filters; receive an indication selecting afilter; display a plurality of icons corresponding to at least one offiles, records, and objects that satisfy the selected filter; andreceive an indication selecting an icon associated with the requesteddata.
 18. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the one or more storedsequences of instructions further cause the processor to: receive, bythe information manager component, a notification including at least oneof updated user requested data and updated unrequested anticipated data;and store at least one of the updated requested data and the updatedunrequested anticipated data in the available storage of the mobilehandheld device.